Beyond this Life
by soulguard
Summary: Short Story; A quick glimpse into the night where Neo's path begins. Another of my classics brought to the world's eyes.


**Beyond this life**

"Neo!" His name was shouted from afar, but in a sense it was as if it echoed directly into his ears. He cringed at the sudden calling of his alias, a name used only in the darkest of cyber hacker communities. Quickly he turned to address the person that called him out, but he gazed upon no one; again. He returned to his bowl of noodles, hopping to forget the moment that had just passed, but he couldn't.

That's three times. He thought to himself. The small side store restaurant was bustling with activity, yet he sat alone. He gripped a set of chop sticks tightly before relaxing, and then stabbed the sticks into the noodles. This was his last meal of the day before he went home to pursue his night activities. Shaken by the oddity of hearing his name aloud, he left a tip upon the counter, gripped his bag and walked out of the shop.

Thomas Anderson's life had been one of secrets, in what most would call mundane or ordinary. His day job routine was filled with little progression or chances of excitement, in fact, his job bored him. He generally completed his work load within an hour's time, using his exceptional computer wizardry upon the simplest of tasks. It was his night job that gained him the life he thusly needed to escape the_real_ world. It was in the confines of his small studio apartment that he garnered the alias 'Neo'. His hacking programs were famous in the underground, yet he was still far behind the legendary hackers 'Morpheus' and 'Trinity'; two names that seemed to beckon him whenever he sat at his home computer terminal.

He walked into his tiny room and tossed his keys to the bed; alone again. He quickly threw off his day garments, a suit never seemed to work for him, and pulled on a loose fitting t-shirt and pants. He powered on his computer and gazed into the black screen. His private email inbox was once again full, ensuring a busy and profitable evening ahead. He quickly began background checks on all the people in the email, paying close attention to those who didn't leave a name; generally they paid him the most and were always on the level. It was the people that left there full names that scared him. Once again, one email stood out amongst others; 'Trinity'. As per Trinity's style, the message was empty. Three emails from Trinity and they were all blank. He never understood why Trinity left him blank inbox messages, but he figured it was the hacker equivalent of saying 'Hello'. He never replied to the email, as he was not sure if the email really came from Trinity. The possibility of the emails being 'ghosts' was too high of a risk. Ghost emails were common amongst wannabe hackers that were attempting to get into the loop. They used existing aliases as a cover up to meet someone. It was an old trick that Neo wasn't going to fall for, but he never deleted the messages. Neo hoped that there was some hope that Trinity really did know who he was.

After three hours of background checks he selected three candidates and emailed the data to them. Within twenty minutes his bank account had swelled by an additional two grand. He didn't like the direct deposit method, as the government could easily track the money, but he hacked into the system and changed the label. He then split the funds into three different accounts under false names that he could access. Unless someone knew what to look for, they would never track the funds sources. Satisfied with the achievement he stood up from his computer and checked the time; nearly midnight. He suddenly wished he had finished his noodles.

- - - - - -

The local twenty-four hour shop was just across the street and Neo made his way there quickly. His loose fitting sandals and dreary jacket did little to keep him warm, but it was a quick adventure for some late night grub; he wouldn't loose any style points for the trip. He walked into the store's first row and quickly grabbed a handful of junk food, he didn't care what. He looked the store over as he approached the counter and spotted two other patrons loafing around. He ignored them, tossed some cash on the counter and waited for his change. The cashier gave him three pennies; Neo smiled and left it on the counter. He exited the store, but had the feeling that he was being watched. He turned and only saw the two men that were in the store earlier, still milling around the store. Neo thought nothing of it and pushed on to his room.

The man at the back of the store watched as Neo walked out of the door. His shades seemed odd, as it was now just after midnight. The man looked to the other gentlemen at his side and then walked away from him as his phone began to ring.

He waited until he was outside the store and then answered, "Yeah."

"_Is everything in place?"_ A soft female voice said on the other line.

"You weren't supposed to relieve me"

"_I know, but I felt like taking a shift."_

The man paused for a second before responding, "You like him, don't you? You like watching him."

With a shifting tone she replied,_ "Don't be ridiculous."_

"We're gonna kill him, you understand that?"

"_Morpheus believes he is the one."_

"Do you?"

"_It doesn't matter what I believe."_

"You don't, do you?" The man questioned as he stepped into the shadows of the small store. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a second phone and speed dialed another number.

A small beep clicked on the females end, subtle but noticeable. _"Did you hear that?"_

"Hear what?"

"_Are you sure this line is clean?"_ She nervously asked.

Stunned, he quickly answered, "Yeah, of course I'm sure." He placed the second phone into a nearby dumpster and walked away, however the phone was still dialing when he left it.

"_I better go."_ The woman said. The line went silent and the man closed his phone.

"Shit." He cursed beneath his breath. He looked back at the dumpster where he had left the still ringing phone, then continued to walk way. He quickly cast his eyes upward at the room where Neo called home and pushed on. After a few moments of walking he spotted a woman approaching him wearing tightly fitting black leather. Her short hair and figure gave little doubt to who she was.

"Trinity." He stated as he passed her by.

"Morpheus wants to talk to you as soon as you get back, Cypher." The two exchanged quick words and continued passed each other without stopping. Cypher knew what he had started could not be stopped, and the police would arrive just as Trinity would enter the safe house. Eventually, the Agents would arrive as well. He had cast his lot into the pit of what would be his bondage and will for the Matrix. He wanted his old life back, even if it meant hurting those that he had come to trust him.

- - - - - - -

Neo walked into his room and tossed the bag of junk onto his bed. Despite his hunger and the large amount of junk he had just purchased, he only ate one candy bar, which satiated his appetite. He sat at his computer and ignored the sirens buzzing outside his window. They were too far to be coming after him, so he saw no need to panic.

He gazed into the computer monitor and sulked. This was his life; his meaningless life. Though the excitement he gained from being a hacker was inspiring, he had nothing more then what he sought to uncover; he wanted to know more about this thing he called life. He didn't feel right, as if the world around him didn't fit. He felt as though he was caught in an illusion, a farce that was created before his eyes. Nothing seemed to fit anymore and he felt as though he was no longer able to fit in. His small circle of friends had run off months ago, the so called friends that said they would be there for him, but quickly turned their backs on him when he began to talk about the meaning of life. All he had left was a search query he had been running for months.

Several posts lead him to the name of 'Morpheus', a super hacker that seemed to be something of a ghost, spiritual leader and a terrorist. No matter how well known the name was in the underground, Neo could never find any plausible leads. Morpheus truly was a ghost in its truest form.

Nothing new was found in his latest search so he rolled from his chair and into bed. He gazed up at the ceiling and pondered what life would be like if it were different. If he had a different path to take that would lead him beyond his dull and uneventful life. But as he closed his eyes to go to sleep, something was nagging at him, something he had read in one of the numerous police and federal Databases he had searched. A reference to something called, 'The Matrix.'

The End.


End file.
